Years Past, Memories Forgotten
by princessmelia
Summary: What would have happened if Arthur and Merlin had met before Merlin came to Camelot? Here's how I think they might have gotten along as children.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N**- Hello, and welome to my first real story on fanfiction! I hope you enjoy this one, and tell me what you think. More chapters will be coming later, so this is not a one-shot, but it shouldn't be terribly long either. Oh, and italicised words are people's thoughts._

_Disclaimer- I do not own Merlin._

_Spoilers- I guess episode 10 of Season 1, Moment of Truth._

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><p>Arthur ran as fast as his little legs would carry him. He thought that getting out of the castle would be the hard part, but now he realized out smarting his Father's knights might be the real problem. Finally, after what seemed like forever to a nine year but was probably only half an hour, he thought he was out of reach. Then he looked around at his surroundings, and realized what the real challenge would be. Surviving.<p>

But he knew he would not head back to Camelot. Never. His Father was strict and insisted on treating Arthur like he was a child, when he was going to be ten in just a few months! After he had wandered around for a few hours, he decided to make camp. It was dusk and summer time, which meant it was probably past when he would normally be going to bed. Arthur smiled in defiance and got out the few belongings he had managed to pack; a bedroll, some flint, a knife, and some food provisions. After starting a fire, he rolled out his bed roll and promptly fell asleep.

When he woke up in the morning, he was surprisingly sore from sleeping on the ground all night. Arthur hadn't realized how much he had counted on his comfy bed at home. _No, not home anymor_e. He was done being a prince, having to do his princely duties. He started on his way again, with no real goal in mind. He figured he would run into a village soon enough and find someone he could apprentice for. Or something like that. However, when no villages came in sight, he started to panic. Then he realized that he had to come across something. He was the prince, and things like this always worked out for him. The rest of the day passed in a blur for Arthur. He ate when he was hungry, and drank from his water skin when he was thirsty. Finally, exhausted after another day of travel, he barely had time to lay out his bed roll before he collapsed and feel asleep.

As Arthur forced his eyes opened, he wondered why his bed cover was suddenly blue instead of red. Then he remembered he had run away. Right, that meant he had to get moving. His food supply was running low, and he knew he would have start hunting soon.

About an hour after he had finished his last provisions for lunch, he heard a rustle in some nearby bushes. _Maybe_, he thought, _I can finally hunt on my own_. When Arthur was nearly upon his prey, it stumbled out of the foliage. With a start, Arthur realized it was not a wild animal, but a boy, maybe a couple of years younger than himself. He was wearing a too large red shirt and a blue neckerchief that swallowed up his whole neck. He was tall for his age, almost Arthur's height, but you could tell he still had some growing to do. Everything seemed too big for him; his clothes, his mouth, his arms, but especially his ears.

"Oh!" The raven haired boy said in surprise. He froze in place, staring at the prince. Arthur was taken aback at just how blue his eyes were, almost the same shade as his.

"Who are you? Where are you from?" The blonde haired boy demanded.

"M-my name is Merlin. My home- I mean my village, it's just over that hill, over there," Merlin stammered out.

_Finally, I found a village._ "Take me there."

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><p>The day Merlin met the boy he was destined to protect started out like any other. He woke up at dawn and went out to help the famers in the fields. Then when it became too hot for the workers to continue, he went and played with his best friend Will who was leaving right after midday with his Mother to go visit family in a neighboring village.<p>

"I'm going to miss you while you're gone. Who's going to help me play pranks? Or go to the stream with me?" Merlin complained.

"I'm sure you'll be okay until I come back. I'll only be gone a week, and I promise we can play with my new bow and arrows when I get back."

"Promise?"

"Of course." And then they shook on it the only way little boys can, by spitting on their hands before the shake, as if their spit held a magical binding power.

Merlin's mother, Hunith, watched as her son moped about the house, sad at the lost of his one friend. "Merlin," she said, "Why don't you go find some more fire wood? I'll need some for cooking dinner tonight."

"Hmm? Oh yeah. Of course Mother," Merlin said, distracted. Hunith didn't really think he heard her because he just kept on sitting there playing (and by playing she meant levitating) with some rocks Merlin had found outside.

"Merlin," Hunith chastised. She walked over to where her son was playing and crouched down next to him. She put her hand over his and slowly brought his attention towards her. "How many times have I told you? You can't use magic. Not here, when someone could walk by and see. Now, why don't you go collect some fire wood for tonight? Please?"

"Yes Mother," Merlin sighed. For being so young, he had a heavy burden, one that would make most children break down. But he kept on, for he was strong, stronger in his will and determination than in his childish desire to show off.

Merlin walked absentmindedly away from the village, and walked farther than his mother would probably approve of. He was thinking. His thoughts dwelt on Will for awhile, before switching to his magic, which inevitably led to his father. He had been thinking of him more lately, since Will's father had been killed in war. It was in this state of mind that Merlin walked through some bushes and suddenly found himself face to face with another boy.

Merlin was startled, to say the least. He quickly took in the boy's appearance. His clothing looked as if it had once been grand, but was so covered with filth it was hard to tell. He had blonde hair, blue eyes, and looked strong, even if he was still young. Merlin let out a surprised sound when he saw him.

The boy's face had a look of frustration on his face, but one could see that he was also very tired. This look was what made Merlin stumble over his words as he tried to answer the older boy's questions.

"Who are you? Where are you from?"

"M-my name is Merlin. My home- I mean my village, it's just over that hill, over there."

"Take me there."

And Merlin felt he had no choice but to oblige this haggard, yet determined looking boy in front of him.

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><p><em>So, what did you think? Let me know in reviews!<em>

**-princessmelia**


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N- Well, here's the next chapter. Thanks to all those that reviewed, it really means a lot, and helps me write and shapes the plot. I plan on updating on Thursday and Sunday, but we'll see how it goes. i have band camp the next two weeks, and it seems even more stressful than school! But I will be keeping it updated , I promise. You can yell at me if I don't :)_

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><p>Merlin dared a glance over at the boy next to him. He seemed confident, almost to the point of cockiness. Merlin wasn't sure how to interact with him. Most of the boys in Ealdor played well together, and even if they didn't, at least they talked to one another. But the child beside him was silent. Merlin decided it was up to him to find out more about the boy.<p>

"What's your name?"

Arthur started at the sound of the boy's, Merlin if he remembered correctly, voice. Had he really just spoken to him? He was the Prince of Camelot and peasants did not just start conversations with him. _But_, he remembered, _I'm not a prince anymore._ And he needed to make sure no one knew who he was. Surely they would have been told all over Camelot to be on the lookout for him. So, instead of answering Merlin's question, he asked one of his own. "What kingdom are we in?"

"Cenred's kingdom," Merlin replied, though it seemed he wasn't ready to give up on his last question yet. "What's your name?"

Arthur debated about whether or not he should tell him the truth. But, surely his father hadn't dared venture into Cenred's kingdom, even if it was for his only son. Camelot had been at odds with Cenred for awhile now, and Father wouldn't want to start a war. Plus, it would be easier to live a lie if there was some truth to it. "Arthur," he finally replied.

"Arthur," Merlin repeated. They travelled in silence for a few moments until Merlin couldn't contain all the questions piling up in his mind. "Where are you from? Why are your clothes so dirty? Don't you have any adults with you? Did you run away? Why did-"Arthur abruptly cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"Do you ever shut up, Merlin?" Arthur already had a headache from his never ending questions, and he had only known the boy for five minutes! He tried to decipher what Merlin had asked him, and what he could actually answer with the truth.

"I'm from far away, though from where is none of your business. My clothes are dirty because I've been sleeping in the forest. No, I don't have any adults with me and yes I did run away, but again it's none of your business as to why." He said all of this rather quickly, hoping if he answered fast enough; it would satisfy Merlin's curiosity. However he was quickly finding out that when it came to Merlin, hoping for things just didn't cut it.

"Well, why can't I know where you're from? And how come you slept in the forest? Why couldn't you find an inn? Did you not have enough money to pay for a room? That's ok; my whole village is rather poor. Especially me and my mother, since we live all alone and…" Arthur let Merlin ramble on and on, figuring it would be easier than trying to stop the little boy from his endless prattle.

It suddenly became very quiet, and the prince looked down at the peasant boy next to him, who was looking at Arthur with an expectant look. "Well…?" Merlin said.

"What?"

"Do you have a place to stay or not?"

"No," Arthur ventured cautiously.

"Great! Then you can come and stay at my house! I always wanted a brother! We can go to the creek, and go racing, and catch bugs, oh and I think you're tall enough to reach the really tall branch of the oak tree and-"

"Shut up!" Arthur all but screamed. He felt slight remorse when he saw Merlin's crestfallen face, but the boy had to learn that some people liked quiet when they were thinking.

Merlin had been excited at first by the prospect of Arthur staying with him. He had started to tell Arthur of all the things they could do, and all the games they could play. But then Arthur had yelled at him to shut up, and suddenly he started to regret his decision of asking Arthur into his home. _But_, he thought, _maybe he could change Arthur's opinion_. After all, he had a whole week until Will came back, and the boy beside him didn't seem too bad. It seemed he was only truly annoyed with Merlin when he talked on and on, so Merlin decided to be quiet for the rest of the trip home. _He __**would**__ change Arthur_, he determined, _and for the better_.

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><p>Merlin was planning on being silent, that is, until he remembered that he needed to gather firewood. "Oh, right!" He had exclaimed.<p>

"What now?" A very exasperated looking Arthur had asked him.

"It's just, I promised my mother I would gather some fire wood. That's actually why I was out here in the first place," Merlin explained.

"Well, then get to it," Arthur said. Merlin determined he said it in a very, for lack of a better word, prattish way.

As Merlin started to gather the fire wood, Arthur decided to rest at a nearby tree. He watched the boy fumble around. _He doesn't seem very graceful_. As if to prove Arthur's last thought, Merlin tripped over a tree root and, weighed down by the firewood he had collected, was unable to keep his balance and fell forward. He let out a small cry of pain as his knees brushed against the bark of another root before he landed in a heap on the ground.

Arthur wasn't sure what to do. Usually when people fell around him in Camelot, other people were there to help them up. It wasn't the prince's responsibility to help. _But he wasn't a prince anymore_. So he made his way over to Merlin and awkwardly put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Merlin tried to hold back his tears. He had only scraped his knees, after all. For some reason, he felt a determination not to show weakness in front of Arthur, something about him made you want to prove yourself. "Yes, I'm fine. But can you help me pick up the firewood?"

So both Arthur and Merlin started collecting the dropped firewood in silence, until Arthur started handing it back to Merlin.

"What are you doing?" Merlin asked in confusion. "Can't you carry it yourself?"

"Oh. Yes, I suppose I can." Arthur hadn't had to carry most things in his life, especially not other people's belongings. But he put his pride aside and helped the younger boy carry the wood back towards his village.

And so it was that the future king of Camelot and his future servant walked back to Ealdor, each pondering the other.

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><p><em>So, how was chapter 2? Let me know, and thanks for reading!<em>

**-princessmelia**


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N-** Woo hoo! Chapter 3! And this should be a bit longer, for those of you that wanted it to be. I'm exhausted, but determined. Seven reviews, yay!_

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><p>When Hunith finally heard her son come home, she was greatly relieved. He had been gone a bit too long for her liking, and was starting to get afraid he had gotten lost or captured.<p>

"Merlin?" she called out.

"Yes Mother, I'm here, just let me put the firewood in the back." She heard Merlin call this out from the open front door.

When he finally came back around she realized he wasn't alone, but had another boy with him. He was a bit older than Merlin, and dirty. Very dirty. Like he had been living in the woods for a week. At first she just stared and then turned to her son.

"Merlin, who is this?"

"Ummmm… well, this is- this is Arthur," he said nervously. Then he burst out saying, "But look, Mother, I found him all alone in the forest and he ran away from home and has no where to stay and doesn't know anyone and I just thought that he could stay with us and-"

Hunith cut him off with a look. "Merlin, you know better than to invite someone to come stay with us before asking me."

"So are you not going to let me stay?" Arthur spoke for the first time. He looked genuinely worried. He had been counting on living here until he found work.

"No, of course not." Hunith turned her gaze on Arthur, and it softened. She looked so motherly; Arthur was a bit captivated by the look. He hadn't known his mother and had grown up without a mother figure. But as she turned back to Merlin, he saw the stern parent look again, and it was almost worse seeing it on her face, rather than his Father's.

"Sorry, Mother," Merlin apologized without even being told to. A few seconds asked before he piped up, "What's for dinner?" And suddenly the whole atmosphere changed in an instance. All of a sudden Merlin and Hunith started making a fire and cutting up vegetables, leaving Arthur to stare there in amazement. His father never forgave so easily. Sometimes he would give that stern look to Arthur for days, before adopting his normal, impassive face. He also never laughed or joked with his father like Merlin was doing with his mother now.

"Arthur?" Arthur looked up from his reverie to see Hunith looking at him with kindness and a bit of concern.

"Yes?"

"Would you like to come help stir the pot?"

"Ummm… sure."

Arthur walked up to the pot, unsure what to do. He had never been to the kitchens, let alone made his own dinner. He grabbed the big spoon awkwardly with two hands and started stirring the only way he knew how, like he was swinging his sword. Stew started sloshing out of the pot, and Hunith hurried over.

"No, no, no," she chided gently, "you need to relax your arms a bit and stir more loosely from the wrists." Arthur did as he was told and the stew stopped sloshing everywhere. But then he heard suppressed giggles coming from the other side of the room, where Merlin was still chopping up some vegetables.

"Do you have a problem, _Mer_lin?"

"Well, I mean, you can't stir stew! Everyone can do _that_!"

"Oh yeah? Well most people can walk over some simple tree roots without tripping all over themselves too."

This caused Merlin to blush slightly and look back down at the carrot he was cutting up.

"Mmhmm, that's what I thought," Arthur said as he turned back to the stew.

Hunith watched the whole exchange, debating between scolding the both of them and laughing out loud. There was just something about the two of them. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she felt there was a connection there.

*Line Break*

After a modest dinner of vegetable stew and stale bread, the two boys helped Hunith clean up the dishes. Both were a mess afterwards since Arthur started scrubbing too hard and ended up splashing water all over himself. And when Merlin couldn't contain his laughter, he ended up with a rag of sudsy water in his face.

"Why don't you boys go clean up in the creek?"

"The creek?" Arthur asked in surprise. At home, he had always had his baths drawn for him in his room.

"Yes, the creek. Now here, you'll need some new clothes, I suppose." Hunith picked out a shirt that was still too big for Merlin to wear, a green one, that looked like it would be just the right size, as well as some black trousers she had planned on mending to fit Merlin.

Merlin led the way to the creek with two wash cloths. When they got there, Merlin stripped down to his pants and jumped in. "Come on in, Arthur. The water's fine!"

Arthur hesitated when he started thinking about how it was a creek. Fish had probably swum in that water. Heck, there were probably even fish in it right now! And there was no way he was going to bathe in the same water as fish.

Merlin, seeing his hesitation and misreading it as fear shouted out, "That is, unless you're too much of a coward!"

Now, Merlin had not yet learned that if there was one thing you did not do in life, it was call Arthur Pendragon a coward. Arthur, now with a determined look on his face, quickly undressed to his pants, and jumped straight into the water, sending a giant splash over Merlin. When he finally resurfaced, it was too see a spluttering Merlin.

"Still think I'm a coward, _Mer_lin?"

Merlin was still to shocked and angry to answer. The, the prat! He had just splashed him on purpose! So, Merlin did the only thing a child can do in retaliation. He splashed him back. Which led to a full on splashing war between the two, only ending because the sun was setting and they had yet to clean themselves of the grime and dirt they had collected.

When they arrived at Merlin's home, they found that Hunith had laid out a spare bed next to Merlin's, with some night clothes for Arthur to change into.

"We're going to sleep on the floor?"

"Oh yeah," Merlin said a bit sheepishly. "I mean we only have one bed, and Mother gets it because, she's well my Mother, and we don't have money for another one for me."

"Oh," was all Arthur said in response. He was again struck with just how different peasant's lives were from his own. He often forgot to stop and appreciate how well off he had it being a prince.

When they had both gotten ready for bed, and Hunith had blown out all the candles, Arthur asked a question that had been on his mind for awhile.

"Where's your father?" He turned his head to his left to look at Merlin, whose head was next to his.

"What do you mean?" Merlin wasn't sure how to answer that question.

"I mean, is he out for the week? Like hunting or something like that?"

"Oh, no." The tone of Merlin's voice made Arthur fear the worst.

"Oh, uh, I didn't mean, I- I, is, is he dead?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? How do you not know something like that?"

Merlin turned toward Arthur with sadness in his eyes. "I just, don't. Mother never told me anything about him, and he was gone before I was born." Then he turned away again.

"Oh."

They laid there in silence for a few moments before Merlin turned back towards Arthur. "What's your father like?" Merlin had always wanted to know more about other people's fathers. It helped him pick and choose what he would, or in some cases wouldn't, want in his own father.

"My father?" Merlin nodded. "He's… difficult to explain." Arthur was trying to skirt around this question. Talking about his father could mean bringing up other questions about is life, questions he could not answer if he hoped to not be discovered.

"Try," Merlin persisted.

_Well_, Arthur thought_, there is no real harm in telling him the truth, at least part of it._

"He's strict and hardly ever expresses how he feels, if it all. He cares little about other's feelings, unless the people themselves are important."

"Is that why you ran away?" Merlin quickly decided he would pick none of the traits from Arthur's father. He seemed callous, and Merlin liked to think his father was more open, and would care about him more than Arthur's seemed to care about him.

"Partially."

"Why else did you leave?"

"I just, didn't like my responsibilities anymore. I wanted to try something different. Simpler."

"Oh." They fell silent, and eventually, both of their breathing slowed and steadied, sure signs that each was asleep.

Hunith got up from her own bed and lit a single candle on her writing desk. She had a letter to write, but didn't want either of the boy s to find it. When she was complete, it read as follows:

_My Dear Gaius,_

_I would like to firstly let you know that Merlin and myself are fine, even thought I haven't written in awhile. But more importantly, I would like to inform you that I believe Prince Arthur is in my care. Merlin found him alone in the forest today and I'm not sure who else to tell. I wish for you to take whatever action you see necessary to ensure that the boy is safely returned home. I'm entrusting you with this since I know you are my friend and are probably the only person who can convince King Uther that his son is safe with me. _

_Hunith_

Satisfied, she rolled and tied the letter with a piece of string. She would send it with a messenger, telling him it was of the most importance. It would take about a day and a half for the rider to arrive at Camelot. And it would probably take another two days for Uther to assemble his men and come and retrieve his son. That means Arthur would be gone in about four days.

She looked over at the two sleeping boys and sighed. She could only hope they would get along till then, and that Merlin could keep his secret. She could only hope.

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><p><em>Yay! I realize now what people mean about characters getting away from them. Like I didn't know Arthur was going to admire Hunith's motherly ways or that Hunith would insisit they clean up! Anyway, please review. And hope you enjoyed!<em>

**-princessmelia**


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N-** Wow! I wrote this in one sit in, hope it's up to par. And 11 reviews! Past 10!_

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><p>When Arthur woke up the next morning, he was a bit confused at first. Why had his bed become so hard? And had the servant that had attended him last night let the fire go out? Maybe he could talk to Father about that… Oh right, his father. That he had run away from. And now he was staying at Merlin's house.<p>

He rolled over and opened his eyes a fraction, to see if the boy was still sleeping to his left. He was surprised to find that the bed was empty, as was Hunith's bed. He sat up and sleepily rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Good morning," Hunith said, from somewhere to his right. She was in the kitchen, stirring something in a pot. When Arthur just continued to stare, he was still a bit tired, she said, "Merlin already had his breakfast, he went out to help some of the farmers until you woke up. Would you like some breakfast?" She smiled pleasantly at Arthur.

He nodded his head and slowly made his way toward the table they had eaten at last night. Hunith grabbed him a bowl, and then spooned some of the contents into it. It made a sloshing sound as the food hit the bowl, making Arthur rather hesitant about what his breakfast would be. As the bowl was set before him, he saw it was some sort of porridge. Arthur looked at it in silent contemplation for a few moments thinking about how odd of a texture it would be on his tongue, before the growling noise in his stomach took over and he grabbed the spoon Hunith handed him and started spooning it into his mouth.

The texture of it was even odder than he had imagined it. But he didn't want to be rude; this woman had given him a roof and bed, so he swallowed down most of it before declaring he was full. Hunith gave him a look, before taking his bowl away. He felt guilty for a few more moments before his pride told him to dismiss it.

He changed into the borrowed clothes he had received yesterday, and ventured outside. He hadn't gotten a clear view of the village when he had come through with Merlin yesterday. It was small, and had only a few fields surrounding it. He wondered how far away from Camelot he was, and if his father had given up the search for him yet.

Not long after he had started walking away from Hunith's house, he heard someone shout his name. "Arthur!" Even though he had only known him for a day, he recognized the voice almost immediately. He heard his non-stopping prattle for long enough. He turned back to see Merlin running towards him.

Arthur let out a bark of laughter as Merlin nearly fell face down on the ground, having not seen a rock that had been sticking slightly out of the dirt that was road. Merlin recovered his balance and, with a slightly red face, walked briskly the rest of the way towards Arthur.

"Isn't it a little early to be tripping over your own two feet, Merlin?"

"Isn't it a little late to be just waking up?" was Merlin's retort.

"Whatever. I'll get up when I want to, I'm the-"Arthur stopped short. That had always been his excuse at home, that he was the prince and could do whatever he wanted. He realized that that just wouldn't cut it here.

"You're the what?" Merlin asked confused.

"I'm, I'm the boss of myself and can do as I please."

"Alright. Well, I was just wondering if you wanted to come with me to the woods.'

"The woods? What's there?"

"Not much, that's just where lot's of the other children like to hang out sometimes."

"Other children? Will I have to meet some of them?"

"No, probably not. They don't really like to hang out with me much." Merlin turned his head down sheepishly, looking everywhere but at Arthur.

"Why not?" Sure, Merlin was a little clumsy and didn't know when to just shut up, but he found it hard to believe that no one would hang out with him.

"I don't know. We don't get along, I guess. We're just… different."

"Don't you have anyone to hang out with?" Without really realizing it, they had both started walking towards the woods, Merlin leading the way.

"I do. His name is Will. But he's gone away for the week. But next week he'll come back, and then the three of us can hang out together! I think the two of you would get along."

"Maybe we will. But why Will?"

"He just, seems to understand me, you know? He's one of the only children here who just accepts me for me." Arthur did know. Being royalty had its downsides too. He hardly had any friends, and even if he did, most of them just wanted to use him to further their own gain, or their parents. But he would never tell Merlin this. Not just because he couldn't explain the whole prince thing, but also because he wasn't could with talking about feeling and things.

Just then they came to the woods and Merlin paused before they walked all the way into the trees.

"There's a really good climbing tree past that clearing through there. See?" Merlin pointed through the trees. There was a path beaten down from people and horses passing through and Arthur could see a clearing.

"I see it." Just then, inspiration came to Arthur. "Merlin," the boy turned to him," do you want to race to the clearing?"

Merlin contemplated for a few moments and looked Arthur up and down as if sizing him up. Finally he seemed to come to a decision. "Sure."

The boys shook hands then took up positions at the beginning of the path.

"On the count of three," Arthur started. "One, two… three!" He bellowed, and both boys took off.

Arthur easily took the lead and he took pleasure in the feeling of pumping his legs. All his years of trainings kept him from running out of breath or losing his balance. He enjoyed the familiar feeling of working out his muscles, of his feet pounding the ground. It reminded him of home; it was something he knew how to do. That is, until he tripped and fell. One moment he had been running, the clearing almost in reach, and then the ground started racing towards him until his hands caught him and stopped his fall. He looked back at the root that had tripped him, not believing that he hadn't seen it there before.

Suddenly, Merlin passed him, with an odd look on his face. It was a mixture of guilt and amusement, but mostly amusement. Arthur got up and tried to cover all his lost ground, but there was no way he could catch up with Merlin.

"Not fair!" He shouted as he finally made it to the clearing where Merlin was already waiting. Merlin smirked in triumph.

"What? You're saying that if I had tripped you wouldn't have kept on running?" However, Merlin was feeling slightly guilty. He watched as Arthur debated on how to answer his last question.

"Yes, I probably would have, but that is beside the point!"

"How is that beside the point?"

"It just is!" Arthur shouted. Merlin could tell Arthur did not like to lose, and suddenly second guessed his decision. When he had seen that Arthur was going to beat him, he had rashly decided to use magic and had made a tree root come farther out of the ground. He felt a slight satisfaction at seeing Arthur's face as he passed him, but still had a slight feeling of guilt in the pit of his stomach. He was quickly brought out of his reverie when he saw Arthur barreling towards him, obviously angry at being beaten.

Merlin did the only logical thing. He ran. He ran towards the climbing tree he had mentioned earlier and started to climb it.

"Look Arthur, can't we talk about this?"

"Talk about it? What are you, a girl?"

Merlin kept climbing and soon Arthur was following him upwards and gaining ground quickly. Merlin paused to catch his breath on a rather large branch, unaware Arthur was right behind him. The next thing Merlin knew his head was in a headlock and his hair was being roughly ruffled.

"Oww! Arthur, get off!"

"Not until you say I'm faster than you!'

"But I won the- owww!" The ruffling had gotten noticeably rougher. "Fine, fine. You're faster than me, now get off!"

"There, now was that so hard?"

Merlin gave Arthur a glare, and the glower looked so out of place on his face, with his big ears and neckerchief that Arthur laughed out loud. And once he started, he couldn't seem to stop. All the stress of the past few days seem to come off with his laughter.

Merlin, who looked confused at first, eventually joined in the laughter.

And so, if someone had walked past they wouldn't have known they were seeing the Once and Future King with his future advisor, the most powerful warlock ever. They would have just seen two boys, laughing for no apparent reason, enjoying each other's company.

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><p><em>So, did you enjoy it? And should we see Uther's point of view next chapter? I'm still on the fence. See you Thursday!<em>

**-princessmelia**


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N-** Sorry this is a short chapter, but I didn't really have time, and I promise I'll make up for it sometime soon._

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><p>"Why does the water have to be so cold? It's turning my hands red and raw?" Arthur complained. Merlin turned in bemusement at his new friend.<p>

"Because the creek is cold. And just be lucky it's not fall or winter because then your hands would really be chafing. " They had been cleaning the week's worth of dirty dishes for ten minutes and were about halfway through.

"And why do we have to do this?'

"Because my Mother has her own things to do. We all pitch in to help around here, even the kids."

Merlin couldn't make out what Arthur grumbled next but heard something about "idiotic" "home" and "servants". Merlin could hardly believe Arthur was complaining this much. It was just chores. Everyone had them, and everyone just dealt with it.

"Come on, let's hurry with the dishes, we still need to do some laundry after this." Arthur groaned and continued on with his work. Sometimes he wondered about leaving home. As more and more time passed, he realized how rash of a decision he had made and became homesick and just wanted to go home.

He wanted to be back in his big bed, having his food brought to him by servants and his laundry done for him. He even thought he missed his father a little bit, but just a little. Because he was old enough to take care of himself, wasn't he?

"Arthur!"

"What?"

"You broke another plate!" Arthur looked down to see that he had, indeed, broken the plate he had been scrubbing at only moments before.

"Look, just go take a walk, I can handle things here. Be back in an hour or so, Mother should have dinner ready by then."

Arthur looked at Merlin with a combination of guilt and relief on his face. "Thanks," he said awkwardly, and walked away towards the woods Merlin had shown him earlier.

Merlin watched his new friend's retreating back and sighed. Sometimes he wasn't sure how easy being friends with Arthur would be. He seemed an alright boy at times, but at other moments he felt like he needed to be taught some compassion, some humility.

Merlin came to the decision that he would help change Arthur. Even though he was a few years older than Merlin himself, he thought he could draw out the good person he knew was inside of him.

* * *

><p>That night both boys fell asleep quickly, exhausted from the days chores and adventures.<p>

Arthur woke up the next morning to a hand hitting him in the face. Hi battle instincts kicked in and he grabbed the hand threateningly and gave it a hard twist.

"Ow!" The childish yell brought Arthur back to where he was and he quickly let go of the hand.

Merlin rubbed his sore wrist and glowered at Arthur. That was a rude awakening from the pleasant dream he had been having. "What was that for?"

"You hit me in the face."

"You could have just taken my hand off you. You didn't have to bruise my wrist."

Arthur just shrugged, he couldn't explain why he reacted the way he had without bringing up his past as a prince.

"Well, come on then, we have more chores to do today. You can come help out with the farming."

Arthur moaned and turned his head back into his pillow.

* * *

><p>Gaius hesitantly entered the throne room. There he found Uther, the normally collected king, in a panic, still sending out search party after search party for his son. Gaius slowly made his way towards the king.<p>

"Sire."

"Gaius, what is it? I hardly have time for anything right now, let alone-"

"Sire, I believe I know where Arthur is."

Uther could hardly believe it. Could his long trusted friend and advisor just given him the news he was so desperately searching for?

"Where? Where is he? Tell me now! Is he in danger?"

"No, to my knowledge he is in no danger. He is in fact staying with a long time acquaintance of mine, in the small village of Ealdor."

"Ealdor? Doesn't that lie within Cenred's kingdom? Why would Arthur be there?"

"I think the boy may have wandered too far away. Maybe he wasn't following a path at all, merely running through the forest until he got somewhere."

"Alright. And this… acquaintance of yours, they can be trusted?'

"Absolutely, sire. She has my utmost trust. She also has a son of her own, and has promised to take care of Arthur as she would her own. She has always been loyal in the past; I see no reason to doubt that loyalty now."

"Fine, then we ride out immediately. Sir Owen, ready five horses. You, Carson, Oswald, Rupert, and I will ride out this afternoon."

Sir Owen nodded and left.

"Do you think it is wise for you to go sire?" Gaius asked the momentarily elated king.

"Of course, why shouldn't it be?"

"Well, it's only that the kingdom can't be without a king. And with both you and the prince gone, people may start to worry." Gaius didn't add his thoughts on how the reason Arthur left in the first place was because he thought his father was being too harsh.

"Don't be ridiculous, Gaius. Camelot will be alright for a few days while I make this journey. No harm will come to me, and I'll be back soon with Arthur."

"Of course, sire." With that Gaius bowed and left.

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><p><em>There, we got Uther's POV in. Let me know if there are any adventures you want Merlin and Arthur to have! And quickly, because the rest of the story that's plotted out is coming up quickly. And thanks for reading!<em>

**-princessmelia**


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N-** Here, a longer chapter to make up for Thursday's short chapter. I just found out about traffic stats and wow. A thousand people have viewed my stories, and not the 60 like I thought? Mind= Blown._

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><p>"Come on Arthur! We're already behind."<p>

"Why can't we use the big metal things?"

"Because that's what the adults use, we're not old enough to handle it." They had been tying the wheat together into bundles for a while now, and they were falling behind all the men. Merlin was becoming increasingly annoyed at Arthur's lack of ability to tie strings into knots. Honestly, it's like he never had to tie anything in his whole life!

Arthur was also annoyed, but for entirely different reasons. How dare Merlin say he couldn't handle those scythe things? They couldn't be much heavier than a sword and he was already a master at wielding those, even at his young age. But he couldn't mention this fact, for fear of discovery. For what average boy would know how to use a sword at his age if he wasn't of noble blood?

And so Arthur continued to fumble with the coarse rope he had received and kept on making awkward and feeble knots. While he was dealing with a fairly difficult one, Merlin walked over and sighed in irritation.

"Here, I'll handle it." Arthur watched as Merlin deftly tied the knot in less than half the time it would have taken Arthur. And so they continued on, Arthur tying one bundle for every three Merlin did, until the farmers said they could stop for the day.

"Finally, I thought that would never end!" Arthur plopped down on the grassy bank they had stopped at near the creek. Merlin glared his way.

"Why do you care? It wasn't like you were doing anything anyway. I was the one who ended up doing most of the work," Merlin huffed.

"Why are you getting in such a tizzy over this Merlin?"

"It just would have been nice to share the work for once. I always have to do it all by myself."

"Don't the other boys help out?"

"No," Merlin sighed, "well, I mean, some do. But only the ones whose fathers are the farmers. Everyone else helps their own father at his job around the village."

"Oh, I see." It was like when Arthur followed his own father through his duties in the castle. Meetings, battle plans, taxes, punishments, executions. One day they would have all been his to deal with. But not anymore, now he was free. Free of those responsibilities. But he was realizing he was also missing home, more and more each day. Had his father given up finding him yet? He didn't know, he didn't think he wanted to.

"Arthur?" His name brought him out of his wanderings.

"What?"

"Do you want to fish? Mother and I have a net we could use. It's kind of old and has some holes, but it should work."

"Alright."

"Okay, just let me go get it. You wait here." Merlin rushed back to his home, eager to have something more fun to do than chores with Arthur. As he entered the house he called out, "Mother, where's the old fishing net we have?"

"In the trunk." Merlin rushed over and quickly opened the old chest that sat at the foot of Hunith's bed. "What do you need the net for?"

"Arthur and I are going to fish with it."

"Alright, but Merlin," Hunith called out before her son could run out the door, "Remember to not use magic, okay?"

"I know Mother."

"And don't get too wet in the creek."

"Yes Mother."

"And be back in an hour."

"Alright Mother!"

"And Merlin?" Merlin turned back around in a huff.

"What?"

"I love you dear."

"I love you too." Merlin had the good graces to look a little bashful than ran out the door toward the creek.

When he returned to where he left Arthur, he found the blonde haired boy leaning up against a tree with a thoughtful look upon his face. Merlin had noticed it more and more lately. It seemed whenever there was a spare moment, Arthur would be lost into his own mind within mere moments.

"Er… Arthur?" He ventured cautiously. Arthur looked up and seemed to consider something for a moment.

"Do you mind if I ask you about something?"

"No." Here was Merlin's chance; maybe he could finally help Arthur bring out the good in him.

"Do you believe someone can… out run their, their destiny?"

"Maybe, but if it's their destiny, and their meant to do it, I think they'll always be pulled back into it."

"That's what I was afraid of."

"What do you mean?"

"I, I don't think know if I should have run away. From home. Do you think I made the right choice?"

"Well, I don't exactly why you ran away from your home, what the circumstances were. But I believe that you should do what you feel is right, and deal with the consequences."

Arthur seemed to consider this. "It doesn't matter now; I can always decide to return later, if I want to. But for now, let's fish!"

And so they did. At first they waded in ankle deep, rolling up their breeches and holding the net between them.

"Arthur, I see one coming!"

"Hold tight Merlin!"

The fish got caught in the net, and they quickly brought their two ends together to firmly secure it.

"Quickly Merlin, grab the string!"

"Er... the string?"

"Don't tell me you forgot something to string the fish up with."

Silence was the only reply Merlin had to that.

"Did you at least grab a pail or something?"

"…No."

"You idiot!" Arthur exclaimed. "How could you forget that?"

"Well, Will normally brings that stuff and I just sort of forgot."

"Hmmm, well let's see if you forget this."

"Arthur, what are you- Ah!" Dropping the net they had been holding, Arthur made a lunge for Merlin, making both of them land in the water with a splash. "Arthur!" Merlin spluttered as he sat there.

Merlin's expression was apparently comical to the young prince, for he started laughing at the sight of him. Merlin, indignant that he was now being laughed at on top of being wet started to wrestle with Arthur, and soon they were both pushing and shoving until they got to the deeper part of the creek and started swimming around.

Merlin collapsed on the bank, exhausted after swimming for so long, and then sat up straight suddenly.

"What is it?" Arthur asked who was reclining next to him.

"Mother said to be back home in an hour," he glanced up at the sky, "And it's definitely been at least two, if not three." Merlin stood up and started to gather his things, quickly running up the bank toward their shoes, socks, and the forgotten net. Arthur followed behind him and picked up his shoes and socks as well. Merlin started running towards his house, Arthur trailing close by.

When they reached the back door of his house, Merlin stopped, took a deep breath, prepared himself for whatever was waiting for him, and then opened the door.

Arthur remembered what his Father was like when he got into trouble at home. There would be a lot of yelling, stern glances, and extra training practices. His father would be disappointed in him for some time, depending on the severities of his digression.

Merlin walked straight into the room and stood there, now realizing how wet he was. Another thing his Mother had told him not to do. At least he hadn't broken the first rule, the most important one. He couldn't imagine how furious she would be if he ever broke _that_ rule.

"Merlin, Arthur, where on earth have you two been? I told you specifically to be home in an hour! And look at you! You're sopping wet!" Arthur was a little surprised to be addressed in this lecture. The last time Hunith had been angry; all her fury had been at Merlin, not him. "Both of you need to change into some dry clothes. Merlin, you know where to go after that." She pointed to a stool in one corner of the house, near the fireplace. "And Arthur, I'll set up a chair for you over there." She again pointed, but this time to the opposite corner of the room.

Arthur was confused at this new development, but kept quiet. He didn't want to anger Hunith further; she had a motherly fury in her eyes. So Arthur changed his clothes and then sat. And sat. And sat. He was rather perplexed as to what to do while sitting there, so he looked over at Merlin. Merlin was sitting there, not saying anything, just staring petulantly at the floor in front of him. Arthur mirrored his expression and soon his mind wandered.

Soon he became bored, and was itching to move. But every time he became too fidgety, Hunith would look over and stop his movements with a look. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Hunith spoke.

"Merlin, Arthur, come here." Both boys came to Hunith, who had been making dinner in the kitchen; they had missed lunch during their time in the creek. "Now, do you both understand why you were punished?" Merlin nodded his head vigorously.

"Yes Mother."

"Arthur?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good. And what do you say?"

Merlin responded, "I'm sorry."

"And sorry means?" Hunith prompted.

"I'll never do it again."

"That's my boy." Hunith bent over and gave Merlin a kiss on the top his head. Merlin squirmed away, embarrassed by the display of affection from his mother in front of the other boy. "Now come on, dinner's ready."

Arthur was once again stunned by the lack of hostility that followed after their punishment. The three ate dinner as if nothing had happened, like the boys hadn't broken Hunith's rules.

After dinner, Arthur had a sudden inspiration. He wanted to thank both of them for their hospitality, for taking care of him and helping him in this new stage of his life. He hadn't remembered he'd brought it until he had looked through his pack last night.

Running over to it now, he produced something rather large and bulky from the bag. "Here," he declared triumphantly, laying the thing upon the now cleared table.

"What is it?" Merlin asked excitedly.

"It's my old book. It has a bunch of great stories inside of it. Stories of knights and monsters and beasts. I want you to have it, Merlin."

"Really?" Merlin shrieked. He had never owned a children's book before. Hunith had taught him how to read and write using some parchment, but now he would be able to actually put that knowledge to some use!

"Arthur, we can't accept this." Merlin's gaze darted from the book to his Mother's face.

"Of course you can. It's the least I can do to thank you."

"Please Mother!"

As Hunith looked into her sons excited blue eyes, she knew there was just no way she could say no. "Alight then, we can keep it."

"Yay!" Merlin screamed and danced around in delight. Arthur laughed, but even that couldn't get Merlin's spirits down.

That night, Merlin and Arthur fell asleep to Hunith's voice reading them the tale of a knight going off to battle a dangerous beast named a cockatrice to save his friend. Both were content and happy, as they drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p>Uther couldn't sleep. He was angry about having to stop and make camp, but they really had no choice. It was dark, and they were quickly getting closer to Cenred's kingdom, they had to be careful.<p>

Yet despite these facts, Uther had wanted to continue. He didn't want to waste anymore time. Arthur had already been gone for five days, and he wanted to see his son again. He wanted to make things right between them.

Even though he would deny it, he knew the reason Arthur had run away was because of him. But he had to be tough on the boy, he was going to be King someday, and needed to learn discipline.

But that didn't matter right now. Right now all he wanted was to hold his son in his arms again.

* * *

><p><em>I tried to incorporate some people's ideas, but I think I have the rest of the plot filled out. We are close to the end, only a few more chapters! This was never meant to be too long, it's actually longer than I first thought, probably because of you guys. So thanks again!<em>

**-princessmelia**


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N-** Hi! We're really close to the end of this story, only a couple chapters left! Part of this was from an idea by llLethell, so thanks to you, it came out better than I thought! And I also forgot to give credit last chapter to the mixed ideas of curlybean and xXMistressMadHatterXx._

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><p>"Freak!"<p>

"Shove off, Marcus," Merlin said, but lacked the confidence behind it for the comeback to make a difference.

"'Shove off Marcus!' Ha, is that the best you could come up with?" Marcus and all his friends laughed at the boy's expense. He had always been the freak, the odd one out. As Marcus looked at him, he just got the feeling that something was different about Merlin, and different just didn't cut it in Ealdor.

Merlin tried to push past the boys, but with no success.

"Where do you think you're going? Off to hang out with your new friend? What? Are we not good enough?"

"Just leave me alone," Merlin again tried to run, but the boys cut him off quickly. Soon he was being pushed between two of the other boys, Benjamin and Peter.

"Come on. Fight back!" And so Merlin tried to. He struggled against the pairs of hands shoving him back and forth. He threw a wild punch, but hit nothing. Back and forth. Back and forth. If it didn't stop soon, Merlin was going to be sick.

"Hey! What's going on here?" Merlin had never been so glad and embarrassed to hear someone's voice before. He looked up to see Arthur approaching the group, a look of indignation on his face.

"What's going on here is none of your business, _outsider_."

"If it involves my friend, then it is certainly my business." Merlin just stared at Arthur. Were they really friends? He supposed they were. Sometimes he had felt a sort of, connection to Arthur. But that's not the only reason he was staring at Arthur. Arthur just looked so…so… regal. So commanding. He was standing there, looking every bit in control when he was clearly outnumbered and on the losing side of the argument.

"Really? Fine. If he's such a good friend of yours, I'll tell you what. If you can get to him, he's yours." Instantly the group of five boys surrounded Merlin.

"Look. Just let Merlin go, and I won't kick your sorry butts. However, if you refuse, you leave me no choice." He shrugged as if either option was okay with him.

"'Leave you no choice'? Yeah right," Marcus retorted. Marcus through a punch at Arthur and quickly found himself with his arm behind his back. Arthur then proceeded to give him a little rap on the head which knocked the boy onto his knees, a little dazed.

The rest of the boys started to shift from foot to foot until Benjamin, the largest of them all, stepped forward. The remaining boys smiled and cheered him on as he approached Arthur.

Merlin watched in apprehension as his friend regarded what was probably going to be his downfall rather calmly.

"Arthur, watch out!"

"Shut up!" One of the boys gave Merlin a hard shove, knocking him to the ground. Merlin let out a cry of pain and shock as he hit the ground. This cry seemed to spur Arthur into action. He quickly and swiftly came running toward Benjamin, fists up. Benjamin met him with his own fists swinging, but Arthur rapidly changed directions, dodging each blow. When he was close enough, he swiped his leg toward Benjamin, hitting him behind the knees causing the larger boy to fall to the ground with a resounding "umph". The remaining boys looked at their fallen peers, then at Arthur, and wisely ran away.

Arthur hurried over to Merlin, and helped him off the ground.

"What was that?"

"What?" Arthur tried to act innocent.

"That! Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"Oh, just some things I picked up on at home."

"You 'just picked up on' _that_?"

"Yeah, there are always a lot of fights where I'm from."

"Oh… okay then," Merlin said skeptically.

They both started to walk towards the clearing they had played at that first day. "What did you do?"

Merlin looked up in surprise at Arthur's question.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what did you do to get ambushed like that?"

"Oh. Nothing, really."

"Nothing? You mean those boys just attacked you for no good reason?"

"Yeah, I suppose so. But they've always been like that."

"Just because someone has always been a jerk doesn't give them the right to be like that for the rest of their life. Sometimes someone's got to change them."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Of course I am. So Merlin, I want you to promise me not to take their bullying anymore."

"What? How am I supposed to do that? It's me against them!"

"Sure, fighting wise. But you've got more to you than that. You've got your words, your stubbornness. Just don't take it from them anymore. Demand your respect."

Merlin pondered this for a few moments. A village where he wasn't being picked on constantly. Where he and Will, and now Arthur, could do as they please without fear of interruption or intrusion.

"Do you promise to stop letting people be bullies from now on?"

"Promise."

"Good. Now, let's climb!" They had made it to the climbing tree. Arthur started up first, reaching the highest, most dangerous branches quickly. Merlin, however, liked to hang around the sturdier, lower branches. They liked to play in the tree for hours, just enjoying each other's companies and talking about nothing in particular.

"Merlin isn't it time we started heading back?" Merlin sighed and looked at the sun in the sky.

"It is, let's go."

Arthur quickly and skillfully scoured down the tree trunk first. Merlin, who had been hanging from his knees, was having a harder time finding his way down. While trying to unhook his legs and grab onto the branch, he lost his hold completely on the branch.

He fell and managed to turn himself in mid air, putting some of his initial impact on his foot before his back absorbed most of the blow.

"Merlin? Merlin!" Arthur rushed to his fallen friend. He wasn't sure what was going on. Merlin wasn't breathing, but looked to be struggling with his lungs. Then he remembered the time he had fallen off his horse and hadn't been able to breath for a few seconds. What had Gaius told him it was called? The breath being knocked out of you?

Merlin looked like he was panicking, trying to fill up his lungs.

"Merlin, just calm down. Keep trying to breathe, I promise you'll be okay." Finally Merlin took a huge breath and sat there gasping for a few moments. Arthur stood up and put his hand out for Merlin to grab.

"Come on, let's go home." Merlin nodded in agreement and grabbed Arthur's hand, but when he put pressure on his right foot he let out a cry of pain and fell back to the ground, nearly pulling Arthur down with him.

"What is it? Your ankle?" Merlin just nodded, the pain it was causing him written all over his face. "Do you think you can put any pressure on it?"

"No. It hurts really bad." Tears started swimming in his eyes, but he tried to blink them away. His ankle was really killing him.

"Alright, well, can you use me for support?"

"Maybe?" Arthur helped Merlin onto his left foot, letting him put his right arm around his shoulders. Merlin, to his embarrassment, ended up putting most of his weight on Arthur. However, the older boy seemed to shoulder his weight surprisingly well, he was stronger than he looked. Then they started walking, well in Merlin's case hobbling, back towards the village.

Arthur glanced over to his left at Merlin, his faced scrunched up in an attempt of trying to suppress his pain. He really was braver than you would think; most boys his age would have crumbled under that much pain and discomfort.

When they reached Merlin's house, Arthur pushed open the front door and called out, "Hunith?" To his dismay, she was not at home. So Arthur helped Merlin hobble over to her bed, and then started to take a look at his foot.

"Now, this may hurt a little, but I need to take off your shoes and socks to look at the injury." Merlin nodded in understanding and gripped the blankets on the bed. As Arthur started to pull the boot off, Merlin hissed in pain, but did nothing else to show his discomfort. Luckily the sock came off much easier than the shoe, and Arthur started to inspect the ankle.

It looked bad. It was swollen and bruised.

"That's my ankle?" Merlin shouted in shock. All Arthur could do was nod in reply. He had seen some of the knights sprain their ankles before, and luckily Merlin's wasn't any worse than theirs had been.

"I've seen worse. You just need to rest it for a few days and keep it wrapped up. Do you have anything to wrap it in?" Arthur started looking around the room, searching for something suitable to bind Merlin's ankle up in.

"Yes, Mother keeps some old bandages in the trunk right there." Merlin nodded with his head (his hands were holding his leg, trying to steady it) toward the foot of the bed. Arthur opened the lid and found the bandages relatively quickly.

"Alright, are you ready? This is going to hurt quite a bit."

"If I said no, would it matter?"

"No, not really."

"Okay, then I'm ready." Merlin braced himself for the pain. And, gosh, did it hurt! It felt like someone was pulling on all the muscles in his ankle at once in different directions. He couldn't contain the small cries of pain the escaped his lips every time Arthur moved his ankle, even if it was only slightly.

Finally, the pain ceased and Arthur declared he was done. "You need to keep it elevated that should help the keep the swelling down."

"Arthur?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

"Anytime Merlin. Anytime."

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><p><em>Let me know what you think, I hope this was a good chapter. It was probably one of my favorites to write :)<em>

**-princessmelia**


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N-** This is it, the end! it's so crazy and I want to thank you all for staying with this. I never expected this much success! Now, there will be an epilogue thing Thursday, so this isn't really the end, but it's the last chapter of the actual story. I hope you enjoy!_

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><p>"Merlin?" Arthur was lying in his makeshift bed next to Merlin's. After Hunith had come home, she had redressed Merlin's bandages and then made them dinner. Now it was night and Arthur and Merlin were supposed to be sleeping. However, sleep kept evading Arthur, so he thought he would see if his new friend was awake.<p>

"Yes, Arthur?" So it seems he wasn't the only one having trouble sleeping.

"Do you like it here? In Ealdor?"

"…Yes. Its home and-"

"But what if it wasn't home? What if you'd grown up somewhere else?"

"Well, I guess it would be harder to adjust to this life, but I like the simplicity of life here. Everyone works together, you work for your food, and you live."

"And you're okay with that?"

"Sure, why wouldn't I be? It seems to work for everyone else here."

"Yes, but don't you ever think you could do more?"

"What more could I do?" Merlin turned to look at Arthur then. The older boy looked like he was at war with himself. "Arthur, what is it?"

"Just… thinking is all."

"Are you going to leave?" Now it was Arthur's turn to look at Merlin. The boy was smarter than he gave him credit for. Merlin stared at him with those big blue eyes. So young, but also filled with a sort of unexplainable wisdom.

"No, I'm not going to leave."

"Good." Merlin rolled back over and stared at the ceiling. "You know, you're one of the best friends I've ever had."

"From what I hear, that hasn't been many."

Merlin was not to be put off by Arthur's comment. "I mean it. Even if I'd had a hundred friends, I still think you'd be one of the best."

Arthur didn't know what to say. Emotional talks and feelings had never been his thing, never been his Father's things. "Umm… Thanks." They laid there in silence for a few moments before Arthur just decided to buck it up and say how he felt.

"You're one of my best friends too, Merlin."

"Thanks" The younger boy turned to look at him with genuine delight on his face. Then they both started quietly laughing for no reason.

* * *

><p>Hunith had always been a light sleeper, and she was particularly easy to wake up that night. She had been doing the calculations in her head, and if she was correct, that meant the king was due at any time now.<p>

She hadn't had the heart to tell Arthur or Merlin. Arthur, for fear he would run away, and Merlin, for fear he would treat his new friend differently. So she had kept quiet, watching their strange and heartfelt interactions from afar.

She heard them around midnight; the sound of hooves, of voices too loud for so late at night. She got up and put her shawl around her shoulders, grabbed a lit candle, and made her way toward the door. She creaked it open and saw, looking extremely out of place, King Uther and four knights of Camelot. Their voices carried through the night; they were asking the villagers where she lived.

She approached the group cautiously. "Your Majesty?" She addressed the king and bowed her head. "I am Hunith."

Uther climbed down from his horse quickly, probably too quickly for a king. "Where is Arthur?" _This man wastes no time_ Hunith thought.

"He's in my house, over here." Hunith started to lead the way, very aware of the king assessing her clothes and the state of her house. Hunith opened the door quietly and hoped that the men wouldn't be too loud; she didn't want Merlin to wake up.

Uther was taken aback at the conditions his son had been living in. The house he entered was small, and when he saw his son he was shocked to see him sleeping on the floor in peasant garb next to another boy. That's right, hadn't Gaius said this woman had had a son as well?

He slowly walked over to Arthur, ignoring the eyes of everyone in the room on him. He kneeled next to him and lightly brushed the hair off his young face. He had meant to wake him up right away, to give him a lecture. But when he saw Arthur lying there, he decided the yelling could wait till morning.

Uther stood up and walked toward Hunith, reaching into his pockets and withdrawing a small bag. "Here, this is for your trouble."

Hunith stared at the bag of coins. "I couldn't accept that."

"A debt needs to be repaid." It was Uther's only way of saying thank you, with material things.

"Thank you." Hunith bowed her head and accepted the money.

Uther made his way back to Arthur, and, as gently as a man like Uther can, picked Arthur up off the floor. The boy next to him rolled over at the disturbance, but Uther did not notice.

And then, without another word, the Prince and the King were gone.

* * *

><p>"Mother?" Merlin groggily called out.<p>

"I'm here." Hunith hurried over to her son, kneeling next to him.

"Where's Arthur?" Merlin pushed himself up into a sitting position, looking around tiredly for his friend.

"He's gone, honey."

"Gone? Gone where? To the climbing tree? The creek?"

"No, Merlin, he's gone home."

"What? But he said he wasn't going to leave!" Merlin tried to stand up, but started to fall back down when he put pressure on his right ankle, having forgotten it was hurt. Luckily, Hunith caught him before he hit the ground, and carried him over to sit on her bed.

"His father came and got him last night, sweetie," Hunith explained.

"But… but he can't be gone. He never met Will; we never got to go on another adventure. He… he was my friend." And then Merlin couldn't help it, he cried. Hunith gathered him up in her arms, letting him cry into her shoulder.

"Shhh, it's okay. It'll be alright." She continued to whisper these comforting words into his ear, rubbing small circles in his back. And Merlin cried for his friend, thinking he would never see him again.

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><p>Arthur rolled over in his sleep and was surprised when his hands didn't touch the dirt floor of Merlin's home, but rather grass. His eyes shot open and he saw he was in a clearing, surrounded by trees. When he turned the other way, he saw a circle of men sitting in a circle. His body tensed and then relaxed when he saw they were knights of Camelot.<p>

One stood up and made his way towards Arthur. Arthur sat up, realizing it was his father. Uther stopped a few feet short of Arthur, each waiting for the other to make the first move.

Arthur stared, confused at how he was feeling. One of the most prevalent emotions was anger. Anger at being taken away, anger at his father for forcing him into coming back home. But, he was also happy and relieved. He hadn't to make the choice about coming home, his father had made it for him, and he was a little embarrassed at how glad he was to see the reason he had run away in the first place.

"Arthur?" Arthur responded to his name, and quickly got up and ran to his father. Uther, for once, did not admonish Arthur for his unprincely behavior, but knelt down and embraced his son. "Oh, Arthur. I missed you."

"I missed you too, Father."

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><p>Both boys missed each other in the next few weeks. But slowly, as time went on, they started to forget about their adventures together.<p>

Arthur was thrust back into training. His work outs increased, as did the amount of times he was asked to sit in on counsels.

Merlin's ankle healed and soon he was backing to helping around the village and playing with Will.

Life was normal for both of them, with only a few minor details changed. For one, Arthur was a bit more forgiving, a bit more understanding. It was barely there, noticeable only to some, but there all the same.

And Merlin stopped the harassment from the other boys in his village. Not to say that they were friends, but they stopped bothering him and Will.

Eventually, the few days the prince and the warlock had spent together became nothing more than a distant memory for all.

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><p><em>There, I hope that you enjoyed it! Epilogue will be up Thursday! (And I think you're all going to like it! I know I do!)<em>

**-princessmelia**


	9. Epilogue

**A/N-** _And here we are, the real end. I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it!_

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><p>"You're late again, <em>Mer<em>lin."

"Sorry, sire." Merlin clumsily came into Arthur's chambers, holding a tray of food and something else wrapped in a cloth in his hands. He also had an odd look on his face, Arthur noted. One of those mischievous grins he often had.

"How was your trip?" Merlin had recently made a journey back to Ealdor for his Mother's birthday.

"It was…interesting." Merlin set the tray down on the table in front of Arthur, but kept a hold on the strange parcel he was carrying.

"Interesting? How so?"

"Well, Mother thought that while I was home, we would go through some of my old things." Merlin sat down across the table from Arthur, completely ignoring proper customs. Arthur shook his head, but didn't comment. "And I found this."

He pushed the covered package over to Arthur. Arthur stopped eating and picked it up.

"What is it?"

"Open it." Arthur did so and stared.

"It's… a book?" The book looked old and worn, like it had seen many years of use.

"Look on inside." Arthur opened the cover and saw it was a book of children's fairy tales. As he flipped through the pages, a faint recognition stirred in the back of his mind.

"I know this book. Why do I know this book?"

"It was yours."

"_Was_ mine? What are you doing with it?"

"You gave it to me." Suddenly, everything clicked in Arthur's mind. The memories of running away, meeting his friend, having adventure. _That_ was Merlin? The same Merlin sitting across from him right now, with a stupid grin on his face?

"Do you remember?"

"It was you?"

"Apparently. Mother never told me until we found the book. She hadn't wanted it to get in the way of anything and thought it would be better if we remembered it ourselves."

"That was your Mother?" Arthur was still trying to grasp all the information he had just been presented with. Those thoughts and memories were there still, just a bit out of reach. He could recall some clearly, and others were shrouded in fog.

"Yes. Arthur, are you alright? Oh, I should have warned you! Gaius said I should have, but I thought it would be more fun this way."

"More fun? "

"Yes, you should see the look on your face, it's priceless."

"Really? So is a decent servant."

"Wow, that hardly even makes sense."

"Shut up Merlin." They sat there while Arthur digested everything.

"Do you remember the time we fell in the creek?"

"Yes! Mother got so mad. And then you couldn't believe it when you got sent to the corner."

"Well, I'd never been punished like that before!"

"Wait, do you remember that first day when we raced?"

"Maybe…"

"I won! I remember now! _You_ tripped and I _beat _you, Arthur Pendragon!" Merlin had a look of triumph upon his face.

"Merlin." Arthur's voice was low and dangerous.

"Yes, Arthur?"

"If you ever speak to anyone about that, so help me God, I will kill you."

"Understood."

They sat in silence again, until Merlin couldn't stand it anymore. "You called me your friend."

"What? I did no such thing."

"Sure you did. When those boys were harassing me, you stepped in and called me your friend."

"You must be imagining things Merlin. I would never claim to be friends with such an idiot."

"Oh, come on Arthur! That same day you helped me with my ankle? Remember? I fell out of the tree and sprained it, or something."

"I remember. You were as clumsy then as you are now."

"And you're a bigger prat now than you were then."

"Hang on-"

"At least back then you were trying to be normal.'

"Because I had run away from home! I couldn't very well run around talking about how I was prince! I would have been sent home right away."

"Alright, whatever you say Arthur, but seeing you try and wash dishes was one of the funniest things I've ever seen."

"Well, speaking of washing things, I have a few extra chores for you to do today…" Merlin groaned.

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><p><em>Let me know what you thought! Thanks again for all the support through alerts, favorites, and reviews! It means a lot! You all rock!<em>

**-princessmelia**


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